‘Hamilton’ Cast Addresses Mike Pence: E Street Band Guitarists React

By now, everyone in the country knows that the cast of the hit Broadway musical Hamilton addressed Vice-President elect Mike Pence from the stage, after the show ended on Friday night. Predictably, Trump supporters (and President elect Donald Trump himself) have reacted to this; on Saturday, #BoycottHamilton was trending on twitter (a rather moot point, as the show is sold out for the next few months anyway).

Over a series of tweets, Van Zandt said, “Hamilton made a mistake. Audiences shouldn’t have to worry about being blindsided like that. Theater should be sanctuary for Art to speak. Lin-Manuel is a genius. He has created the greatest play since West Side Story. He is also a role model. This sets a terrible precedent. Completely inappropriate. Theater should be a safe haven for Art to speak. Not the actors. He needs to apologize to Mike Pence.”

He took pains to note that he doesn’t advocate any of Pence’s, or Trump’s, stances. Quite the opposite (the following quote compiles a few of his tweets): “There has never been a more outspoken politically active artist than me. He was their guest. You protect your guests. Don’t embarrass them. When artists perform the venue becomes your home. The audience are your guests. It is nothing short of the same bullying tactic we rightly have criticized Trump for in the past. It’s taking unfair advantage of someone who thought they were a protected guest in your home. Nobody on this planet disagrees more with everything Pence represents. But I don’t tolerate bullying in any form. Even the respectful kind… A guy comes to a Broadway show for a relaxing night out. Instead he gets a lecture from the stage! Not a level playing field. It’s bullying.”

“Please don’t misunderstand. Everyone who is sane disagrees with his policies. This was not the time or place to do it is all I’m saying,” adding that “Bigotry is obviously never acceptable. I am saying it is a bad precedent for actors to start addressing audience members!”

Some who disagreed called him out, and he responded, noting that he didn’t even disagree with the cast’s statement, just that he disagrees with where it was made. He notes that the point of inclusion was made within the play itself, and also shot down the idea that anyone should adopt bullying tactics because those tactics were employed by Trump.

The cast was not intentionally rude. The speech was heartfelt with content shared by all of us. Given at the wrong… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…

Noting that it was ok that he and Van Zandt disagree on the matter, he said, “The audience had the freedom to boo. The statement was truth to power.” When someone countered that it was the wrong place and time to make a statement, he responded, “The times they are a changing,” adding in a later tweet, “Any chance you get to speak truth to power right now, you have to take it.”

Tom Morello, who did some time as a guitarist in the E Street Band in 2013-2014, merely retweeted someone who said, “‘Booing Mike Pence is disrespectful’ The dude believes I should have the gay electrocuted out of me I will boo him in his own goddamn house.”

"Booing Mike Pence is disrespectful" The dude believes I should have the gay electrocuted out of me I will boo him in his own goddamn house

As for Mike Pence himself, he told CBS’s Face the Nation that he wasn’t offended. “I wasn’t offended by what was said, I’ll leave to others whether it was the appropriate venue to say it. But I want to assure people who were disappointed in the election results, people who are feeling anxious about this time in the life of our nation, that President-elect Donald Trump meant exactly what he said on election night, that he is going to be the president of all the people of the United States of America.”